The S&P 500 closed at 7,785.76, down 13.23 points, or 0.17%, on the day. Breadth actually leaned positive, with 250 of the index's 503 members higher even as the index itself slipped, the kind of split the payload flags as a divergence, with concentration running to 125%.
Broadcom did the damage on its own: a 5.94% drop was worth 11.96 points off the index. Amazon, Eli Lilly, Applied Materials and Palantir also weighed, each contributing between 1 and 2.5 points to the downside. On the other side, chipmakers outside Broadcom carried the tape. Advanced Micro Devices added 4.6 points on a 6.5% gain, Micron added 2.3, Sandisk 1.49, Seagate 1.06 and Apple 0.94, a cluster of gains that kept the index's decline from spreading.
The Dow
The Dow closed at 53,732.00, down 107.99 points, or 0.2%, on narrower breadth than the S&P 500: only 11 of its 30 members finished higher. Concentration was tighter here too, at 62%.
Salesforce led the drag, off 2.57% and worth 30.79 points, with Goldman Sachs, Home Depot, IBM and Amgen combining for smaller but steady point losses. UnitedHealth was the biggest offset, up 0.68% for 16.05 points, followed by Chevron, Disney, Caterpillar and Boeing. This is where the Dow's story splits from the S&P 500's: the broader index broke on a single chip name, while the Dow's decline traced to software and services names with no chip exposure at all.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 30,046.14, down 38.36 points, or 0.13%, with 49 of 102 members higher and concentration at 109%.
Broadcom again did most of the work, down 5.94% for 29.6 points off the index, well over half of the day's net decline on its own. Amazon, Applied Materials, SpaceX and Meta Platforms added smaller losses beneath it. The same chip names that cushioned the S&P 500 did the same job here: Advanced Micro Devices' 6.5% gain added 12.84 points, Micron 6.18, Sandisk 4.19, Seagate 2.96 and Apple 2.45. The Nasdaq 100's session reads like the S&P 500's story concentrated, one chipmaker's loss nearly offset by a handful of others' gains, all inside the same sector.
The sectors
Across the eleven sector groups, the split ran defensive-leaning winners against technology and health care losers. Energy led with a 1.39% gain worth 0.85 points, followed by Utilities, Materials, Industrials, Communication Services and Real Estate, each higher by less than a point. Consumer Staples edged up slightly. Financials, Consumer Discretionary, Technology and Health Care closed lower, with Technology off 0.39% and Health Care the day's weakest sector at negative 0.6%.
Energy's gain traced to Exxon Mobil, up 0.94% for 0.12 points, the sector's top named contributor though a modest one against the group's 0.85-point move.
Health Care's decline concentrated in Eli Lilly, down 2.37% for 0.62 points, more than half of the sector's 1.01-point loss by itself.
None of today's three headline moves ranks as a large one by the payload's own measure. The S&P 500's slip sits at the 33rd percentile of the past year's daily moves, the Dow's decline at the 31st, and the Nasdaq 100's at the 40th, ordinary sessions by recent history even with the chip-driven split running underneath.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,785.76, down 13.23 points or 0.17%, sitting at the 33rd percentile of the past year's daily moves.
- The Dow closed at 53,732.00, down 107.99 points or 0.2%, with only 11 of 30 members higher.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 30,046.14, down 38.36 points or 0.13%, with 49 of 102 members higher.
- Broadcom was the single biggest drag on both the S&P 500, at negative 11.96 points, and the Nasdaq 100, at negative 29.6 points.
- Salesforce led the Dow's decline, off 2.57% for 30.79 points.
- Advanced Micro Devices was the day's biggest positive contributor in both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, adding 4.6 and 12.84 points respectively on a 6.5% gain.
- Energy was the strongest sector, up 1.39%, led by Exxon Mobil's 0.94% gain.
- Health Care was the weakest sector, down 0.6%, weighed most by Eli Lilly's 2.37% decline.
From Babylon Burns
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